Pricked by the Rose
by General Confusion
Summary: The son of an American sailor is offered a place at Hogwarts during his father's deployment to England. While there James's world is turned upside down, and the fiery red-head he meets does little to change that. NEXTGEN RoseOC. I am annoyed by the quantity of RoseScor fics that being said, there will be some RoseScor in this, but it is necessary T for romance & violence
1. Pricked by the Rose

**This was my first ever fic for the Harry Potter fandom. I decided that the early chapters needed re-written to ensure better grammar and spelling, and that it needed to be finished.**

**Please leave a review. Remember reviews are an author's source of vitality, and if you don't review, we wither away and die.  
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It was August 1st when the odd-man with the letter arrived. My parents didn't know whether it was a prank or not. My dad had just been transferred by the Navy as part of the regular schedule of deployments. We had been forced to leave the states, and we ended up in England. When this occurred, my parents had started to look for a school that I could attend. They were going to send me to a public school until Mr. Longbottom came by with the letter.

For years my parents had known I was different. Things happened around me that just weren't normal. My dad, Jack Summers, finally decided that it wasn't a joke, and that I had in fact been invited to join a school for those gifted in the magical arts. With that decided, he invited Mr. Longbottom in to let him speak to us.

"Your son is a wizard. Believe it or not, a wizard coming from a family of muggles, non-magical people like you, isn't rare. In fact one of the best witches I know was born to a muggle family," Mr. Longbottom explained to my parents. I simply sat there observing him. He was wearing robes, and they were an earthy green color. In fact, he even smelled kind of earthy. It was like he spent all his time with plants or outdoors. I was on this train of thought when he turned to me.

"James, you are a wizard, and from what I understand, you have every chance to be just as good as my friend Hermione is. I know this is quite sudden, but it is customary in the magical world to start your education in magic at the age of 11." He gave me a reassuring smile as he spoke. I was already starting to like this man who had shown up out of what seemed like thin air. He was very likeable, and it seemed as if all he wanted to do was help me. My mother, Heather Summers, seemed at ease around this man, and that helped me. It told me that she trusted him.

"Where will I find all of these things? I don't have any of your money either, assuming the magical world has its own currency. Could I convert muggle money into magical money?" I asked all these questions as I studied the list of things I would need if I were to attend this school, Hogwarts the letter called it. It seemed like a legitimate boarding school. It even had a coat of arms, and it was a fantastic one at that. It had four quarters each one with a different animal. They were what looked like a Raven, a Snake, what I assumed was a lion or what I thought a Griffin should look like, and a Badger. I knew the badger right away; we had hunted them sometimes back in the U.S. They were an animal known to be fiercely loyal to their families. This line of thought almost caused me to miss what Mr. Longbottom told me next.

"You'll come with me to Diagon Alley. It is a place where we can buy everything on that list. And yes we do have different money than the muggle world does. You can change your money over to ours at the magical bank in Diagon Alley called Gringotts. It is run by Goblins…very frugal creatures they are." Mr. Longbottom answered all of my questions with a calm tone. He seemed to be enjoying the fact that I was asking questions. He almost seemed to read my mind as he said, "You remind me so much of Hermione. Muggle-born, intelligent, and always asking or answering questions."

I wasn't sure if I liked being compared to a girl, but he did say that she was a very talented witch, so that alleviated my uneasy feeling. I always wanted to be the best. I strived to be the smartest, but I was also a fairly big kid due to playing football constantly. I was an odd mixture of muscles and brains, and I knew it

"Okay, when do we go?" I asked him. My parents realized that this meant I was intent on going, and they seemed to give their assent after a short glance between the pair of them. I looked back to Mr. Longbottom as I waited for an answer.

"We can go right this instant if your parents don't mind. I'll have you back before night time, they can be assured of it." He responded as he looked to them for permission.

"Okay. James can go." My dad said without much hesitation. Then, he motioned for us to wait for a moment. He left the room, and when he returned he came back with a great deal of money. "I was going to use this to pay for your education this year, so now you can use it for the supplies necessary." He proceeded to hand me the money and sit back down.

"Great! Come now James…we have a lot to get done." He says as he motioned for me to stand next to him. I do so, and he instructed, "Hold on tight to me, and don't let go." I do so, and then I feel a tug and we are sucked into oblivion. Before I knew it, we were back out in the daylight, on a street full of people in robes, and lined with fantastic storefronts.

"Our first stop will be to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, to change over that money your wonderful father gave you. Then, we can begin our shopping." Mr. Longbottom said cheerfully. He seemed a very confident man to me. It was but a few minutes before we arrived at the bank. It was a stunning building, and it had a very imposing architecture. When we went through the doors, I noticed an inscription, but I don't pay it much attention.

"It's a warning to those who would try to rob Gringotts. This is protected by many spells, and as such it would be folly to try. There have only been two successful break-ins in the history of the bank. Both were done by very strong wizards or group of wizards." He explained to me as we passed through the doors.

We approached a goblin sitting behind a desk. It's long fingers were holding a gold coin, which it was scrutinizing under the hand microscope tool that jewelers use. He didn't seem pleased with what he was seeing. He looked up at Mr. Longbottom, and then down at me.

"Leprechaun gold…entirely worthless!" He said to Mr. Longbottom as he showed him the coin. He then put the coin back, and continued to say, "Another muggle-born?" The goblin asked the question in an almost scathing tone. I got the feeling that goblins don't necessarily like interacting with humans much.

"Yes. We would appreciate it if you would exchange his muggle currency for him." Mr. Longbottom returned rather respectfully. I wondered if it was just his nature, or that he was trying to make the goblin more comfortable. Either way it didn't seem to matter, because the goblin still seemed just as cold as before. The goblin gestured for the money, and I handed it over. He fliped through it rather quickly, then turned around.

"Ungok…take this and exchange it for the proper currency." As soon as he shouted the name, another goblin appeared at his side and took the money. He then left, and the goblin in front of us turned to face us again. He then took out a list, and flipped through many pages. He stopped for a second and examined a page with great scrutiny, then shook his head in disgust and continued on. Eventually he stopped, and muttered something to himself in what I can only guess is another language.

"Gobbledegook, it's their language." Mr. Longbottom whispered to me. I simply nodded my head as the goblin does the same. He seemed to have found what he was looking for. He put the list away, and went back to scrutinizing more of the coins in the pile. Occasionally he would gain a look of disgust and drop the coin in a bin next to him.

After what seemed like ages, the goblin, Ungok, finally returns with a rather large bag of what I assume to be the coins. He hands the bag to the goblin in front of us and waddles off. The bag is in turn handed to Mr. Longbottom, who handed it to me to look at. I opened the bag and peered inside. In it were a stunning amount of coins of three different types. One type was gold, one silver, and the last, bronze. I closed the bag up, and Mr. Longbottom thanked the goblin before we left.

After leaving the bank, he led me to a bench where we sat down. He took the bag from me and fetched out one of each type of coin. He proceeded to tell me, "This is a gold Galleon, this is a silver sickle, and this is a bronze Knut." He brandished them in order as he spoke their names. "There are 17 Sickles to a Galleon, and 29 Knuts to a Sickle." I nodded, that's pretty simple. That meant there were 493 Knuts in a Galleon. I'm pretty good at math, so that was fairly easy for me to figure out.

After the monetary lesson, we headed off to a shop to get robes. The shop was called Madame Malkin's, and the lady inside seemed nice enough as she measured me. She fitted the robes very quickly, and then I paid her, thanked her, and left with Mr. Longbottom.

That was when he took me to an odd little shop called Olivander's. I had heard people in the Alley talking about what a shame it was that Mr. Ollivander had retired, but that he had left a very capable relative in charge of the store. I entered the store, not sure what to expect. When I entered, a very skinny man with slicked-back black hair turned around behind the counter.

"First-year I presume? And not from a wizarding family I grasp." He said with a small smile as I nodded. He moved around the counter towards me, and shook my hand as he introduced himself, "I am yet another Ollivander. My great uncle taught me everything he knew about wandlore, and I now take his place in charge of this shop. Now, let's get you measured. What is your wand arm?" With this question I was a bit confused, I'd never owned a wand, so I didn't know what arm to raise. I simply acted logically and raised my dominant arm, my right one.

"Good. Good. Let's see here." Suddenly he flourished his wand towards me and a tape measure appeared. It starts taking measurements on its own, and the shop keeper went behind the counter to rummage through many shelves full of boxes. He finally grabbed one from the shelf and said, "Maple, 10 inches, phoenix feather core and brittle." He started to hand it to me, but he quickly rethought and put it back before starting his search again.

He came upon another one he appeared willing to try. "Ah…an American wood…maybe…" He took it out and brought it over. He opened the box while he spoke, "Cyprus, 14 ¼ inches, dragon heartstring, pliable but sturdy. Here…give it a wave." He handed me the wand then demonstrated in a rather eccentric manner the way to wave the wand. As the wand touched my skin, a kind of warmth crept along my body and I gave it a wave. Multi-colored sparks flew from the tip, and this new Ollivander happily hummed to himself what sounded like God Save the Queen. While he hummed, he walked back behind the counter to an old register.

"That will be 8 Galleons please." He told me before he continued humming. I handed him the money, he thanked me, started humming again, and I left with Mr. Longbottom.

"He seemed a bit eccentric." I said to the amusement of Mr. Longbottom. He must have known I was going to say that.

"He's a wizard, and an Ollivander nonetheless. If there is one thing you can expect from Ollivanders it is a bit of eccentricity, but every brilliant mind is eccentric in one manner or another." He told me. I accepted this, because it was quite true. Then, I started to wonder if I was actually as brilliant as I thought. I didn't think I had any eccentricities, but, who ever really thinks of themselves as eccentric?

After that, we went to a variety of different shops and gathered all the required supplies and books. After we had acquired everything I needed, Mr. Longbottom asked, "Now, is there anything you saw that you wanted, but wasn't included on the list? Like a pet?" I had really wanted almost everything I saw, including a pet of some kind, but a cat just wasn't something I wanted seeing as I was a dog person. I could get an owl, but I wasn't sure about that. It would be difficult to take care of the owl while at home and not at the school. There was also a broom, but I decided against it, because first-years weren't allowed to have brooms, so there was no point.

I finally decided to reply, "Well, I think I'm just fine with what is necessary for now. Maybe I can come back sometime if I need something or want something else." Mr. Longbottom smiled at my honesty, and we left Diagon Alley. When we got home, he left me at my house with all my school stuff.

"I look forward to seeing you this year in class Mr. Summers. I think you will do just fine." With that he left. I realized after he had spoken that he was actually a teacher at the school. I quickly started to wonder what class he taught. I did this as I moved all my stuff up to my room. There I put it in a trunk that we had found in the attic. It was an interesting old trunk, and it seemed to fit well with the magical items. After that I found the letter Mr. Longbottom had brought, and I looked at the list of classes again. There were lots of classes, but I felt only one of them fit the man who had just taken me to Diagon Alley. He had to be the Herbology professor; he smelled so much like the earth that there was very little doubt in my mind about this.

Over the next month, I read every single book I had been required to buy. Each one was fantastic, and filled with many different spells. I tried out a couple of them with my wand, but only the safe ones like Lumos. This spell was put to work quite often so I could read late at night without my parents knowing.

By the time the day came for me to go to King's Cross Station, I felt content with my knowledge of magic. I felt like I would be able to keep up with the other students who had the privilege to be born into magical families. When we arrived at the Station, I loaded all my belongings onto a cart and started inside with my parents. When we reached Platform 9 I told them goodbye, and they left. My father didn't have any qualms with doing so, because he believed I could take care of myself after all the years living on military bases. My mother however took a lot longer to convince to let me go alone.

I sat there for a short while wondering how to get to Platform 9 3/4. I didn't know what to do. It seemed odd, but then again we are talking about the platform for the train that would ultimately take me to the magical school he had been looking forward to going to the last month.

Finally, I heard a couple talking about their first child going off to Hogwarts. They had been talking rather quietly, but I heard them nonetheless, and I looked around. I quickly noticed a man and woman with a daughter who was pushing a cart with stuff on it. They also seemed to have a son who was sticking close to his mother.

"Excuse me. Did you say that you have a child going to Hogwarts?" I asked fairly quietly. I had never been the greatest around people. Despite my size and smarts, I tended to be a little shy. The first reaction came from the man with the red hair. His eyes widened a bit as if he was surprised someone had overheard them. Thankfully his wife realized that I was just trying to get to the Platform, and she gave me a little smile.

"Yes. This will be Rose's first year. I assume it'll be your first year too?" She answered me warmly.

"I'm James. Yes it is…but I'm muggle-born, so…" I trailed off. I'm pretty sure they got the gist of what I was trying to say without me actually saying it. The woman's eyes seemed to brighten at this. I assumed she was either fascinated by me being muggle-born, or she was also muggle-born. As it turned out I was right about both.

"Don't worry about it…I'm muggle-born too. Just ask my husband…I was the top of my year…you'll do just fine." She said in a kind tone. Then, her husband chuckled.

"This takes me back. It's just like when I met Harry all those years ago." He told his wife. Then, he turned to me and said, "She's right. Hermione was the best in our year. And…if you're wondering how to get through, just follow Rose and I." After he finished his sentence, he winked at me and walked over to Rose. Rose had the same shockingly red hair that her father did, except hers was much longer. They then walked right into the barrier between platforms and promptly disappeared. This was only slightly disturbing to me, because I'd already accepted that magic could do wonderful things.

I looked back at the woman, and what the man had called her suddenly dawned on me. My eyes widened, and I asked, "Are you the Hermione Mr. Longbottom told me about? You have to be. He was telling me how much I reminded him of you. Being that I'm muggle-born, and fairly brilliant as he put it."

She simply smiled and said, "Oh Neville…such a good friend. Yes I was the one he was talking about, and if he praised you, then I think you'll do much better than fine. You'll be fantastic. Now hurry along…you don't want to be late." I did as she said, and I walked straight through the barrier. It was more disturbing to do it than it was to watch somebody else do it.

Once on the other side, I marveled at the enormous train in front of me, all the while I moved forward. I did my best to avoid hitting anyone with my cart, but it was quite hard as there were a great deal of people on the platform. Finally I came to a door where there were not a ton of people crowded around, and I started to lift my trunk. While it was heavy, I was fairly strong, but I still couldn't move it. An older boy nearby saw I was having trouble, and he offered to help. I gladly accepted and we carried my trunk on and stowed it in a compartment where nobody was yet sitting, and where there was no other luggage. I thanked him and we both got off the train.

After I got off the train, I simply walked around the platform a bit. I was amazed at all the different people there. I was also happy to see a man who I thought was Harry Potter. According to the history books, he had defeated the most terrible wizard of all time, Voldemort, at Hogwarts years before I was born. This man had my respect…to do something as great as that, and at the age he did it, took a lot of heart.

Finally, it came time for the train to leave, and I boarded at the same door I had gone to before. While walking to the compartment with my luggage I passed many compartments that were already full. There were a lot of students going to this school, I thought. When I made it to the compartment I had put my trunk in, I noticed that it was occupied by a pair of people.

"James needs to stop bothering people…he's so nosy sometimes." This came from the girl I had been introduced to as Rose. This was obvious from her hair. Across from her was a boy with black hair. I knocked on the door frame, and they both looked at me.

"Hi James. This is Albus." Rose told me. I hadn't expected her to be so friendly to me. Even though her mom seemed nice, she had seemed rather shy.

"Hey Rose. Hello Albus. Is…is this seat taken?" I asked them as I gestured to the open area next to Rose. Both of them shook their heads and I sat down. I was glad that I had a place to sit, and with someone I had met just prior to boarding the train. It was quiet for a long time before I decided to break the silence.

"Rose, when I heard your name, the first thing that went through my mind was a quote from Shakespeare, a famous muggle writer-" I started to say. But she cut me off.

"That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet? Yeah…I know Shakespeare even though I'm not muggle-born. I'm smart." She said with a smile. She was a little cocky, competitive, and that made me smile back at her. That was when she threw a boxed candy at me. It hit the exposed skin on my arm, and gave me a small cut that started to bleed. I looked at it and smiled as a clever line came to my mind.

"Every Rose has its thorns, and it looks like I've been pricked."

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**So, what did you think? Please leave a review!**


	2. Beyond Belief

**Here is Chapter 2 revamped! I hope more readers start to read again. This was a pretty successful fic even with the errors previously. So, hopefully the new additions and fixes will help it reach new found success. **

**Please review, I love to get CnC and anything you have to say is a pleasure for me to read, even flames have some merit to them.  
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After the incident, Rose didn't apologize. In fact she told me it was my fault. This had not surprised me much. It just seemed to be the way she was. She seemed to warm up after that though. She, Albus, and I talked for a long time. When the food cart came by, I was amazed at all the sweets that were arrayed upon it. I had several chocolate frogs, and then realized that this was the box that Rose had hit me with. I enjoyed the chocolate, but I enjoyed the cards inside them more, because they had little interesting facts.

I actually got a card of Rose's mom. She was fairly famous after all, both for her part in the defeat of Voldemort, and for her achievements after school. While we were all talking, a boy who looked like an older, skinnier version of Albus poked his head in the door.

"Al, Rose you should get your robes on. We're getting close." He spoke with authority. I realized that he must be an older student, possibly their relative. That was when he noticed me. He gave a sly smile as he asked, "Who's this Rose?" By the tone of his voice and the smile on his face, he was clearly insinuating something. Rose noticed this too, because her face turned red. I couldn't tell if it had been out of anger or embarrassment, but I leaned more towards the former due to her response.

She spit venom at the boy as she said, "His name is James. He wears the name better than you do." I felt like I was just used as a part of an insult. I knew they must be close, because only people who were close fought like that. The other James smiled widely. The insult was like a compliment to his ability to annoy Rose, and that's what he took it as.

"Well James, nice to meet you. I'm also James. I'm Al's older brother. I'm in Gryffindor. What House do you think you'll be sorted into?" He introduced himself properly, and I couldn't help but notice the cheerful way in which he did it. He was clearly a fun-loving guy. When he asked his question about the houses, I wasn't sure if he was sincere about it, or if he just wanted to try for fodder to use against me later.

I decided I should answer, mainly because it was rude not to, so I said, "Well, I'd rather be in Gryffindor, but I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw all that much. I just don't want to be in either Hufflepuff or Slytherin. They just don't seem right to me...I mean Hufflepuff takes anyone the other Houses don't want, and Slytherin is supposed to be where all the bad wizards go." I gave him an honest answer based on my reading and logical thinking. I really wanted to be in Gryffindor the most. I obviously passed James's test, as he smiled at my answer. His reply only further affirmed I had given the 'correct' answer.

"Good boy…remember if you do end up in Slytherin I won't like you one bit. That'd really be a shame considering I'm already taking a liking to you. I couldn't be happier to have all three of you end up in Gryffindor. That would be great, but not likely…huh Albus?" He seemed sincere about wanting all of us in his House. The shot at Al was clearly a joke, but I wasn't sure why he would even joke about it. It didn't seem like something to joke about. At that point, I wasn't sure if I liked Al's brother. He was funny, but he pushed the limit on it. Then again, he seemed to have a good relationship with his family members, and that was important. This made me realize that Rose had to be related to the two. I racked my memory for a moment, and then I realized why this seemed true.

"Wait…Are you two Harry Potter's sons? I apologize for the seemingly random question, but I realized that if you two are actually his sons, than you two are also related to Rose." I asked quickly, before Albus could object to what James had said. All three looked at me for a second without saying a word. They seemed a little impressed or stunned by the fact that I had figured this out so quickly. It was either that, or they figured everyone knew they were related.

"You're right. They are his sons, and they are my cousins. Though, I rarely claim James. You're pretty smart…not as smart as I am, but close." Rose was the one to answer my question in her matter-of-fact tone. Her shot at James didn't go unnoticed as he grabbed his chest like he had been shot. I liked talking to her, because she was just as competitive as I was and this made for interesting moments. This was already evident in the short time I'd known her. I smiled and held my hands up in mock surrender. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of the temper that had already slightly shown itself. This little exchange between the pair of us seemed to amuse James. Both Rose and I turned on him.

"What's so funny?" We said in tandem. We stopped for a second and look at each other. Her cheeks looked as red as mine felt, and I was sure this time was embarrassment and not anger. This merely made him laugh harder.

"I really do hope you two end up in the same House. Especially if it's Gryffindor. That'll be too interesting a situation to pass up." With that, he left Rose, Al, and I sitting there and thinking about what he could've meant. There were multiple things it could have meant, but I didn't bother myself with any of them. They were simply too crazy. Instead, we gathered up our robes and went one at a time to change into them. I went last, because I told them I didn't mind doing so. Rose went first, and while she was gone, Albus and I talked.

"Why was your brother acting like you wouldn't be in Gryffindor?" I felt bad about the question, because I didn't want to seem like I was being invasive. I just wanted to know if James was pushing Al's buttons, or if there was really a legitimate reason for him act that way. Albus just shook his head.

"He likes to bother me. He knows I want to be in Gryffindor more than anything else, but I'm afraid I might be put in another house. So, he plays off those fears, uses them to his advantage. Even though I know he only does it to get a reaction, I can't help reacting. It's impossible not to react." I understood what he meant. There were some people that knew us so well that they could rile us up in ten seconds flat. Nothing that we did to counter it would work. I suddenly found myself wishing I had a brother again. The thought had crossed my mind a lot back in the States. I was an only child though, and I had grown up on military bases across the U.S. which meant I didn't have any real friends anywhere.

This was quite a depressing train of thought, so I jumped off it. Instead, I thought about how great it would be to have a pair of friends like Albus and Rose. Having friends before making it to the school would make it easier for me to fit in. This was especially true since they weren't only my friends due to the fact that I was the American. At least I thought that wasn't the only reason they seemed to be my friends. Rose got back while I was lost in my thoughts, and Albus got up to leave. With Albus gone, Rose and I were quiet for a bit, but finally, she broke the silence.

"So, you're like my mother. You were born to muggle parents. What do they do? If you don't mind me asking." She seemed interested. I wondered if it was due to her mother being muggle-born, or just her natural curiosity. Either way it didn't bother me to talk about what my parents did.

"Well, my father is an officer in the United States Navy. He is a combat corpsman, a doctor who works in the middle of battle. We got deployed here, because he was picked to work with the Royal British Navy as part of a regular series of deployments. It's kind of like an exchange program. Each side sends a few officers to work with the other Navy, and learn new ideas to bring back home. My mother is your standard military wife. She doesn't have a job, but instead she stays at home and keeps everything in order. That included taking care of me until I was offered a chance to go to Hogwarts." It was a pretty thorough answer, and she seemed content with it. I wanted to know more about the magical world, and she seemed like a good person to ask, but I decided I would avoid asking a ton of questions for now.

We sank back into silence until Al came back. I left the compartment and walked a short distance to the changing rooms to put on my robes. When I got there, a boy with silvery-blonde hair was waiting in line. I normally reserve judgment for people until after I've talked to them, but my mind screamed _Snake as soon as _I saw him. He just seemed like that type of person. We stood there next to each other for a moment before he spoke.

"Hello…I'm Scorpius…Scorpius Malfoy. I'm a pure-blood. How about you?" The boy spoke very smugly, as if there was nothing greater in the world than to be a pure-blood wizard. I looked him over again, taking in his rather haughty demeanor before deigning to speak to him.

"I'm James Summers. I am as far from pure-blood as you can get. Both my parents are muggles." I returned with a pride in my voice that rivaled his. The disgust in his eyes was clear. He didn't voice that disgust out loud, but it was written all over his face. I guess he didn't speak because to the fact that even though we were the same height, he was extremely skinny. I on the other hand was much more solidly built due to years of sports and military drills. We relapsed into silence, and it was a most welcome one.

Mercifully, we both finally were able to change and go our separate ways. He headed towards the front of the train, and I headed towards my compartment in the back. When I got back, the other James was walking towards me from the other end of the train car. He smiled at me and nodded a hello. I returned the smile and greeted him. We both entered the compartment at the same time, and Rose looked up.

"James!" Rose shouted as we opened the door. Both of us looked up, and then at each other. The look in his eye could only mean one thing, and we both knew what the other was thinking. He gave an almost imperceptible nod…one…two…three!

"What?" We shouted back unison. Then we both started laughing. That was the moment that I decided that I did like James, and I hoped that I would end up in Gryffindor with him, if only to stay friends with him.

"That's not funny you know! I hope you two get in trouble for doing that. I'm just going to have to start calling you by your full name then cousin." Rose snapped at the pair of us. Then her focus turned solely on her cousin. I thought she was just nervous, but I couldn't tell, having only known her for a few hours. She continued her assault against her cousin by adding, "I heard you interrupted Victoire and Teddy earlier. Why would you do that? You have horrid people skills!" She didn't seem truly mad, merely upset, but I knew James would once again take this as a complement, just as he had before. Despite her words, I felt that he had very good people skills. He was one of those people that made himself hard not to like, if only for his personality.

"Oh, you know you love me Rose. You just can't bring yourself to admit it." James teased. This just made her madder, and she seemed about to throw things when the train started to slow down. "We're here!" James said as his face lit up in yet another grin. This was enough to make Rose forget about what her cousin had done for the time being.

We started to file towards the doors, and when we got outside, it was night time. The single platform was lit by lanterns and we walked quite a ways to the front of the train. The three of us were following everyone else when we heard a booming voice down the way.

"Firs' years over this way! Firs' years with me!" The voice said. We followed it to a very large man. He had a wild looking face that bore the burden of a very large beard, and long, tangled hair fell about the sides of his face. It gave him a very rugged, mountain-man look. Despite this, or because of it, it was clear that I'd never really seen someone quite like this before. "Do I have all the firs' years? Good. Now follow me!" The enormous man said. He led us down a path to a lake. At the lake was a fleet of little boat.

"Four to a boat! Three of you with me!" The man leading us said. We listened to him, and the three of us got into a boat. We sat there for a couple seconds before another boy came around.

"Can I join ya?" He asked, and we nodded as he stepped into the boat. We needed a fourth, and he seemed all right. "Me name is Seamus Finnigan junior. Nice to meet ya." He said in a cheerful accent. He seemed Irish to me, but I'd never really known a person that was Irish by birth, so I couldn't be sure.

"Hi. I'm James Summers."I told him, and I looked to Rose and Albus to introduce their selves.

"I'm Rose Weasley." Rose added in her typical tone.

"My name is Albus Potter." Al told the boy. Finnigan nodded to each of us in turn.

"Me dad went to school with both of your dads." He told them before he turned back to me, "I don't know you though. Your name isn't familiar to me." I smiled. It wasn't an uncommon name, but then again it wasn't common, so it was easy to see why he wouldn't be familiar with it, especially since I came from the U.S. and I wasn't from a magical family.

"I'm muggle-born. I was surprised a month ago to find out I was a wizard. Feels odd that I'm a first generation wizard in my family." I said in response to his statement. I smiled about being first generation. It was funny for me to say that I was first generation anything since my ancestors had been living in the states for thousands of years.

The boats started moving shortly after that. I looked around and noticed that no oars were being used. Magic moved them. We sailed across the lake towards a magnificent castle. I couldn't believe my eyes. This was Hogwarts. It was enormous. We finally reached a landing at the base of the cliff the castle was on, and once everyone was out of the boats, the large man led us up the path to the school. We passed through a large pair of gates and walked a short way down a path to the main castle doors. They were enormous, and when we got there, the bear of a man ushered us into the entrance hall. We all stood there for a bit like a flock of scared sheep before we were herded into a very large dining hall that the teacher called the Great Hall.

In there were 5 rather large tables. It seemed everything about the castle was larger than life. There was one table per House, and the last was for the staff. Upon walking in, all the other students stared at us. I realized then how funny we must have looked. Up near the staff table there was a small stool with an ugly looking hat on it. Standing next to it was Professor Longbottom.

The hat on the stool came to life as soon as the Great Hall quieted. It started to sing, and many of us, us being the first years, were surprised. It sang of the different Houses, and of the types of students in each. The hat then proceeded to explain to us that, even with our differences, it was still important to stick together as a school. This amazing, magical hat was called the Sorting Hat. At the end of the song, Professor Longbottom started calling out names of first years so we could come up and be sorted.

"Tyler Abercrombie!" A small, terrified looking boy was the first to be called and sorted. After a short time the Hat seemed to make up its mind.

"Hufflepuff!" It shouted and the Hufflepuff table erupted in applause. The first student of our year went to Hufflepuff.

"Megan Agarkar!" A tall, black haired girl walked up to the stool and sat down. The hat was put on her head, and it sat there for a while before finally deciding her place.

"Ravenclaw!" It proclaimed aloud. This resulted in celebration at the Ravenclaw table, and the girl happily walked over to the rest of her new house. Seeing her, I couldn't help but think that I wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw. Then I realized this wasn't the time to think things like that, and I chuckled to myself before focusing on the sorting again. This continued until eventually, Seamus came up.

"Seamus Finnigan Jr.!" He walked up to the dais and sat down on the stool with a surprisingly calm demeanor. He seemed confident of where he would go as the Hat was put on his head. His confidence seemed to pay off as the Hat made a quick choice.

"Gryffindor!" Seamus took the hat off and grinned widely as he went over to the exploding Gryffindor table. The sorting continued with people I didn't yet know. Scorpius Malfoy was the next name I recognized.

The smug boy strode up as he was called. The hat went on his head, and it paused for only a moment before sorting him.

"Slytherin!" It shouted, and I knew even before he was sorted that he was where he rightfully belonged. A short time later, Albus was summoned.

"Albus Potter!" Albus went up. His every move screamed of his apprehension, but the Sorting Hat needed only a few seconds to decide where he should go.

"Gryffindor!" Albus beamed at being put into his family's House. Gryffindor was just as enthusiastic about receiving another Potter. The moment I'd been dreading and hoping for came only minutes after Al's sorting.

"James Summers!" I felt slightly nervous as I made the walk up the middle of the Great Hall to the stool. Knowing that everyone's eyes were upon me didn't make me feel any better, but I knew how to deal with apprehension, so I just buried it away like many other needless emotions. I sat down and the Sorting Hat was placed upon my head. Suddenly I heard it start talking.

"Hmmm, you're quite the intelligent young man. Ravenclaw is always an intriguing possibility. But there is something else as well. You have a great fighting spirit in you, right alongside a strong bastion of courage. You haven't had the easiest life, but you've done a great job of pushing back. You're a muggle-born. You might be well-suited for Gryffindor. Then there is the need to be somebody noteworthy. That is most definitely interesting." The hat seemed to be debating with itself, and my entire future was riding on whichever side of its mind won out. I started to think to it, in the hope that it would listen, _I don't mind where you put me, but I'm going to be brave and smart no matter where I go. I can be both. I don't have to be one or the other. _I sat there for a moment as I wondered if it had even listened. The hat was silent. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it seemed to make its decision.

"Gryffindor!" The dread that had been pressing down on my chest vanished as I got up from the stool and set the hat down. I beamed while I walked towards the now crazy Gryffindor table. At the table, James Potter seemed to be making the most noise of anyone, just as he had when his brother was sorted. I sat down next to Al and across from James. We then sat, waited, and listened to the rest of the Sorting. Rose was one of the last of us to be called.

"Rose Weasley!" She went up to the stool with confidence. This made me smile. She was one of the few first-years called to be this calm. Upon sitting down on the stool the hat was placed on her head. There was a pause while the hat determined her fate.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted after what was one of the longest sortings of the entire event. I was unbelievably happy that we were to be in Gryffindor with each other. This meant all my new friends I had made on the way to Hogwarts were in the same House. When she reached the table, we hugged each other, but we then separated quickly. Upon breaking the hug, neither of us could look at the other. I think she was as embarrassed by the show of happiness as I was. This of course, did not go unnoticed by James Potter. The smile on his face betrayed the many wicked thoughts in his mind. Thankfully the Sorting had ended and the Headmistress began the Start of Term feast so I didn't have to bear that grin very long. Her name was Professor Sprout. She had formerly taught Herbology, but she took over the Headmistress position upon the retirement of Professor McGonagall a few years before.

With a wave of her hand, food magically appeared on all of the tables. There were so many wonderful dishes that I didn't know. I just ate what was offered to me by my friends. They had good taste it seemed, as I enjoyed everything they told me to try. Finally the feast came to an end, and Professor Sprout stood up. She offered a small speech about pursuing academic excellence and not breaking the rules, many of which were then explained. Mercifully we were finally released to our Prefects who would lead us to the Common Room.

"First year Gryffindors, please follow me!" A musical voice called out. Rose seemed extremely happy to hear this voice. I soon found out that it belonged to yet another of her relatives.

"Victoire!" Rose shouted as she ran toward the girl I was later told was Rose's and Al's cousin. She was unbelievably beautiful with her dirty blonde hair and icy blue eyes. I wasn't the only guy affected by her. It seemed every guy in her general vicinity turned to look at her for at least a few moments before they shook their heads and walked away slightly dazed. We followed Victoire up many flights of stairs, some of them even moved while we were on them. On the Seventh Floor we came to a portrait of a very large woman. She was called the Fat Lady in the books I read about Hogwarts.

"Password?" The portrait asked, and I was taken aback. It was very odd having a painting talk to you, or your group in general. At least it was for a muggle-born like me. Victoire wasn't fazed in the least, because she had been here for many years already.

"Cumquat." She said clearly and the portrait swung open to reveal a spacious common room. There were many comfortable looking armchairs, some of which were arranged around a fireplace. There was also a bulletin board, which at this time was only covered in a few sheets of paper. "Girls on the left. Boys to the right. You'll find the door marked First-year. That will be your dormitory. Now off to bed!" Victoire chimed in her musical voice.

Albus, Seamus, and I looked at each other and then at Rose.

"Night Rose." I said, looking at her brown eyes. Seamus and Albus both repeated what I said in their own ways.

"Night guys." Rose said to all of us. She didn't look at me while she said it, but instead she turned away and ran off up the steps to the girl's dormitories.

The three of us followed her lead, andturned to go up the steps. We quickly reached our dormitory. There were four four-poster beds in the room. There was one for Seamus, one for Albus, and one for me, as well as a fourth for the other boy who had been Sorted into Gryffindor. Then, the other Gryffindor first year came into our room. All our stuff had been placed at the end of our beds, and we all got dressed to sleep. The last thought that crossed my mind before I fell asleep was an extreme understatement.

_This school is unbelievable._

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	3. Friendship or Disaster?

_**Okay, here is chapter three redone and ready to go! I hope you enjoy it!**  
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_**Special shout out to Dianne Potter, who, no matter what, always reviews and leaves me amazing comments. Thanks Dianne!  
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_**Now, on to business...Please review if you have any thoughts at all on this fic, and if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.  
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_Where am I?_ The first thought that crossed my sleepy mind was slow to form while I woke up in the unfamiliar four-poster bed. I turned over and sat up as I looked to my right and I saw Al. Beyond him, I remembered, was Seamus. To my left was the other first-year Gryffindor boy. I remembered his name was Michel Zabini. He was darker skinned than most people, including myself. This was a big surprise, because my skin was very dark for a Caucasian. This was due to my Cherokee ancestry.

After I woke up, I left my bed and washed my face. Around the time I finished washing my face the others started waking up. Seamus seemed disoriented like I had been. Zabini woke up quietly and simply sat there in his bed. Albus however, kept on sleeping. He was sleeping like a rock as we say in America when I decided it wouldn't be nice to let one of my few friends miss breakfast, especially on the first day. So, I went over to his bed. I wasn't going to let him miss breakfast, but that didn't mean I couldn't wake him up loudly. I took a deep breath in.

"WAKE UP AL!" My voice was loud enough that I was sure I had woken everyone else in the tower. I did my job well as he bolted upright. The startled look on his face was priceless. This made all of us laugh, including Michel who had, up until that point, neglected to even smile.

"James you arse!" Albus said as he grabbed his pillow and threw it. I was still laughing and unable to dodge or catch the pillow as it flew towards me. It hit my face and elicited even more laughter from Seamus, Michel, and myself. Albus quickly got over the rude awakening and we all got dressed. When the four of us were ready, we headed downstairs as a group. We found Rose waiting by the common room exit. She looked as if she had been ready for quite a while, and she was tapping her foot with impatience.

"Hurry up…do you guys want to miss our first day of classes?"Rose asked in an agitated tone of voice. I looked at her and merely raised my eyebrows. I had thought about responding, but I didn't feel like tempting fate. I still couldn't hold myself back from at least saying hello.

"Good morning to you too Rose." I said to her as we reached her spot by the exit. Albus and Seamus followed in with their greetings. Zabini stayed his usual quiet self and just nodded. That was when the thought dawned on me that I had not heard him speak a single word since I met him. He seemed a very reserved boy. That was just fine by me, because I often found myself wanting to remain quiet.

Rose was the first one out of the painting, and we followed closely behind. She was a few steps ahead of us on the steps the whole way down. At the bottom of the Grand Staircase there was a large crowd of students moving into the Great Hall, so she fell back to us. She remained beside me the rest of the way, right up to the table in the Great Hall. Albus, Rose and I sat on one side of the table, while Seamus, Michel, and a rather bubbly girl in our year named Amanda Watson sat opposite us.

"Isn't this so exciting? I just can't get over it! I wonder what class we'll have first? Oh! I hope it's Transfiguration! I think that would be so interesting...Don't you?" She spoke rapidly as soon as she sat down. It all seemed to come out at once. Her blue eyes were wide with excitement and she was fiddling with her long blonde curls. All together it was quite an amusing sight, and I had to force myself not to laugh. Seamus on the other hand, didn't mind smiling. He grinned quite widely. This didn't escape the notice of Rose, who threw him a scornful look.

"Come on Rose. Lighten up some." Before I finished the sentence I knew I probably shouldn't have said anything. This comment merely earned me the cold-shoulder treatment. So far I had not been doing a good job at being her friend. I tried to apologize for the words I'd spoken, but she still wouldn't talk to me the rest of breakfast. Instead I turned to Al.

"Rose is ignoring me…I seem to have made her mad. Is she always this easy to anger?"I asked him this quietly with the expectation that Rose wouldn't hear. I just hoped she started to forgive me, because I couldn't go through the school day knowing one of my few friends in the world was mad at me.

"Usually she doesn't get mad this easily. Sure she gets mad at stuff, but nowhere near this easy." He whispered back. So, she seemed to hold a special grudge towards me for whatever reason. This perturbed me a great deal. I just wished I knew why. I looked over to Zabini. He simply looked up from his food and gave me a small shrug.

I ate in relative silence for the rest of breakfast, because I was lost in thoughts and ideas of how to get her to speak again. At the end of breakfast we got our schedules, and since we were first-years, all six of us had the same schedule. This meant I had to suffer through Rose's silent treatment for the rest of the day if she didn't come around.

As it turned out, our first lesson was indeed Transfiguration. It was with the Ravenclaws. I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of being in a class with the House for the quick-witted, especially in a subject as hard as Transfiguration. I didn't voice this opinion however. The teacher for this class was Professor Bell.

"I went to school with many of your parents. This however does not mean I will be easy on you. I expect you to give me your all. Please do not mess around, and we will get along just fine. Now we'll start with notes." For most of the class period we took down the very difficult notes that she gave us. As we neared the end of class, she brought out a box of matches and said, "Now you will try to change the match I give you into a needle. I don't expect any of you to do it today. Surprise me."

After she passed the matches out we all tried hard to change them. Rose, even though she refused to talk to me, sat on my right. I took this as a small sign that maybe she wasn't completely miffed at me. Albus was to my left, and Seamus in the row behind and above us with Michel. On Rose's other side sat Amanda, almost bursting with excitement throughout the whole class.

By the end of the class only two of us managed to produce any sort of change in our matches. Rose had been the first. She had made the match shiny and metallic. When she did this, she smiled and turned to me, but she must have remembered she wasn't talking to me, because just as quickly she turned back to her match. I was the only other one to accomplish anything with the spell. I had managed to make the end pointed and sharp, but I was not able to make it metallic like Rose's.

"Look Rose." I said as I pointed to my match, but she was still ignoring me and she didn't bother to look back. This disappointed me, but I didn't let it get to me. Instead, I showed it to Albus, Seamus, and Zabini. I think Amanda was jealous that Rose and I were better than she was at Transfiguration, because by the end of the class she seemed highly disappointed that her match had retained both its shape and look.

Classes went on for the rest of the day much like this. History of Magic, taught by the ghost Professor Binns, was highly boring. This was coming from a kid who naturally enjoys history. Potions, which was taught by Professor Nott, the Slytherin Head of House, was not the best class. The Gryffindor first years had to take the class with the Slytherins. Needless to say, Professor Nott favored the Slytherins. He was quick to give them points, but for the same accomplishments, the Gryffindors merely received a passing remark. This made Rose and I mad. We were the two best in the class, but you would think we were completely average the way Nott talked about us. Apparently Nott had also gone to school with many of the first years' parents. He especially was fond of Scorpius, whose father was friends with Professor Nott.

Charms, was taught by a very small man named Professor Flitwick. He was the Head of Ravenclaw house. He seemed to be quite old, and according to Albus, he had taught when his dad was at Hogwarts. This struck me as amazing, but then again we were in a world of magic, and anything was possible.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by Professor Bones. She was the Head of Hufflepuff House. She told them that her skills had come from being taught by the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Harry Potter. I looked to Al who sat there blushing as several other pairs of eyes looked his way. I liked Professor Bones's class a lot. It was one of my favorites, because she was more practical than theoretical, and she was a great teacher to boot.

The only other class that any of us had was Herbology. It was with Mr.—Professor Longbottom, I corrected myself. He was the Head of our House, and as such, many of us liked him. He was a tough teacher, but fun, because he was just. On our first day, Rose, Al, and I were among the first to appear.

"Hello Rose and Albus. You're parents are doing well I hope?" He greeted them. Rose and Al both nodded their heads. "Good, now go find a place to stand." They listened to him and walked off to one of the tables. That was when he turned to me. "Now James, how are you doing? Do you like it here so far?"

"I love it here, and I'm doing just fine. My only problem right now is that a friend doesn't want to talk to me." I told him the truth, because he'd likely know about it one way or another. I had learned in the Muggle world that it was never good to keep things from teachers, because they usually ended up finding out about it. I was positive that if non-magical teachers were that good, than magical teachers had to be great. Professor Longbottom simply gave a kind smile.

"I sensed that Rose was mad at someone. I knew her mother for too long, and she has very similar tendencies. Don't worry about it. She'll come around eventually." He reassured me with a smile. By this point, I was sure he was psychic. He read my mind like an open book, and that wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. Very few people if any had ever understood me that quickly. On the other hand, it was almost nice to have someone understand me so well.

Seeing as Herbology was the last class of the day, we all went up to the common room before dinner once class was over. I would have sat in one of the armchairs, but there was only one left. I let Rose have it, and she looked me in the eyes for a moment. I hadn't truly noticed the color before that moment. Her eyes were a deep blue. I could feel her looking through me. Looking into me was a better way of putting it. It was as if she was searching for something in my gray eyes, and I couldn't look away. Finally I was able to look away after a couple moments. I dropped to the floor and sat with my head resting against Rose's chair.

She looked over the front of her seat and raised an eyebrow, but she still did not speak to me. This really started to frustrate me at that point. I did not know what I had to do to get her to speak. I didn't know if she wanted me to be patient with her, or if she wanted me to speak first. I decided I'd play her game. I'd stay quiet as long as she did. Then, a thought came to me. We were both very stubborn, or so it seemed. We could keep this up for weeks, maybe even the entire year.

After about an hour of sitting in the common room resting and doing some of the homework we had been assigned that day, we decided to go downstairs. Seamus and Amanda had left sometime earlier, because Seamus was always hungry. So, it was just Michel, Al, Rose, and I. While we were on the steps, they started to move once again, and we almost got lost. We didn't however, because both Rose and I were smart and did a good job at following which staircase moved when and to where it moved. Once we made it to the Great Hall, many people were already there eating.

I sat next to Al and Rose again, but then I paused for a moment. I had already sat down, but the thought that had struck me was, _why?_ If Rose wasn't talking to me, why did I sit next to her? I shook the question out of my head. I wasn't sure if I knew the answer, or if I did know, it was probably subconsciously and I really didn't want to become conscious of it. We ate dinner quickly, and then went off to finish our homework before bed.

The next couple weeks came and went in much the same fashion. Rose and I still would not talk to each other. She wouldn't talk to me for whatever reason, and I was determined to match her due to my stubborn nature. Al tried to get us to speak, but whenever he brought up the subject we would both ignore him until he changed it. I felt bad about doing this to him, because it wasn't really fair, and he was only trying to help, but there was nothing that could get me to end this until she gave up first. During this time, I increasingly found that I enjoyed Zabini's company almost as much as Al's and Seamus's. Even though he was quiet, he always seemed to give input.

Finally one day, I heard him talk. We were alone in our room, practicing the Levitation charm for Professor Flitwick. Up until this point he had stayed pretty much mute except, obviously, when he was performing spells, or answering a teacher. He wasn't the kind to be social, but that was fine by me. I could tell however that he was very observant. He didn't miss anything.

"You should talk to her." He told me from across the room. I hadn't been expecting this, and the pillow I had been levitating over my head fell straight down as my concentration broke. This made Michel smile widely. I decided to play coy.

"To who?" I asked him quizzically, adding a raised eyebrow for extra effect. I had found I wasn't that bad at hiding what I really felt, or at changing my tone of voice to suit a lie. He was not fooled, but he elaborated anyways.

"Rose." Even when he talked, he seemed to limit his words as much as possible. This amused me, and as such I smiled a bit. I realized this could be misconstrued at smiling about Rose though, so I dropped it fairly quickly. It took me a few moments to collect a response, but I spoke again.

"Who says we aren't talking? And if we aren't, then why should we talk if she doesn't want to?" I asked him. He let his pillow fall to the ground, and then he looked at me. He stared at me, making me slightly uncomfortable, for a couple of seconds before answering.

"You aren't talking…You should talk because you are her friend." He stated simply. He didn't have any sort of tone to his voice. It was just his usual voice. He rarely showed much emotion, but that wasn't a bad thing. It was just different from how most people were.

"You're right…" I said as I shook my head. "I…I just can't though. It's something where I feel that I need to wait for her. Otherwise I might screw up." I told him. She hadn't responded at first when I spoke to her, so I decided it was best to let her speak to me first. If she didn't speak to me, then I'd break and go to her. However, I'd wait as long as I could. Michel simply looked at me and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, I tried.

The day after my conversation with Michel, if it even qualified as one, Rose and Albus received a letter addressed to the both of them. It was from the Gamekeeper, Hagrid. He was the very large man who had led us to the school on the first day. He wished for the two of them to come down to his cabin, as their parents had told him that they would stop in from time to time. Apparently they had done it when they were in school. Rose and Al decided they would go down to the cabin at the time he had specified for the next Saturday.

"You can come with us if you want." Albus said to me as we walked out of the Great Hall on Saturday morning. I looked over at Rose, but she just ignored my gaze. I don't think she was happy that Albus had invited me. I decided I would go with or without her approval, because one of my friends had been kind enough to invite me. I still didn't know what she was mad about though. We had gone weeks without talking, and she hadn't given a single clue as to what I'd done wrong.

"Thanks Al, I'd love to come." I told him. I decided that enough was enough. I would talk to Rose one way or another. I made up my mind to pull her aside before we went to the cabin, or after we left. This would give me time to speak to her alone. Al wouldn't mind me talking to her alone. I couldn't drum up the courage to speak to her before we made it to the cabin, so I decided to talk with her after we left Hagrid's cabin.

We reached the cabin fairly early when the air was still cool. Al and Rose stood in front of the door as they knocked, but I stood back behind them. Hagrid came to the door and opened it. When he stepped out, I could see a large smile form under his slightly graying beard.

"Come in…come in. Lemme get yeh summat to eat." He said as he waved us in. I walked in slowly behind the other two, and I looked up at Hagrid as I walked by. He nodded his head for me to go in with a big smile still on his face.

"I'm happy yeh all could come by. Now who's yer friend?" He asked Rose and Albus. At the same time he rummaged around in his cupboards. Rose just glared at me from the other side of the table. Al, knowing that she wouldn't speak, took the initiative himself.

"He's James Summers. We met him on the Hogwarts Express. This is Hagrid, James." Albus replied to Hagrid. He turned to me when he introduced Hagrid. I kind of knew who he was, but in being polite I smiled.

"Nice to meet you Hagrid. I'm muggle-born, so this is all so new to me." I told him. He turned around with a tray of food and a smile that seemed almost customary.

"Muggle-born eh? Well, if yer anything like Rose's mum, yeh should be fine." He told me reassuringly. Having this many people tell me that made me feel a lot better than if only a couple had said it. Once he had said it, I looked over to Rose. She seemed completely focused on the tray that Hagrid hat put on the table. It was full of rock cakes that, from my vantage point, looked like actual rocks. At the same time, Hagrid brought out a teapot with freshly made tea. It didn't smell all that great, but to spare his feelings, I ate one rock cake, and drank a cup of the tea, which, despite the smell, actually wasn't half bad.

As the four of us sat there together in Hagrid's oversized chairs, we talked for a long time about all manner of things, magical and mundane. Then, Hagrid walked to his backdoor and reached inside a barrel. He grabbed out what looked like a dead ferret.

"Come 'ere and see Witherwings." He told us before grabbing a few more ferrets and walking out the door. We followed him, once again with me bringing up the rear. When I exited his cabin, I was amazed at what I saw laying in the garden. It was a Hippogriff, or at least it looked like the pictures I had seen.

"Now, stay back. Yeh need to bow to him an' don' take yer eyes off him. Don' blink. If he bows back, then yeh can approach and pet him." Hagrid instructed us. We did as we were told. Witherwings orange eyes seemed to pierce through me. They had a very prideful, yet intelligent look to them. Finally, he bowed his head back, and we approached slowly. We pet him along the length of his neck, and along his steel colored beak. He seemed to enjoy this a great deal. It was as if he hadn't had this much attention from students in a long time, and that didn't surprise me. Even though he was beautiful, he had a dangerous air about him that was assuredly a natural fear implanted in the human mind.

"Fantastic! Yeh three are wonderful with animals! Yeh are the only Firs' years I've ever let near a Hippogriff!" Hagrid told us as he approached with the ferrets. That was when Witherwings focused his attention on him. The hippogriff's head cocked to the side in anticipation of his meal. I took a step back, as did the others, right before Hagrid tossed a ferret up. Witherwings snapped his head forward, and caught it in mid-air. He proceeded to chew and swallow it in chunks, bones and all. He did the same with the next two, and then when Hagrid approached, he rubbed his head against him. It was a lot like what a cat does when it wants something from its owner.

Shortly after this amazing experience, we left Hagrid's with an invite to come back again next week or anytime we wanted. This excited me, and I almost forgot about talking to Rose. Thankfully I didn't though.

"Rose, will you come with me for a second? You don't mind do you Al?" Al shook his head, gave me a sympathetic look, and then kept walking. Rose just looked at me, and with Al already walking away she had a choice to make. We stood there for a minute, as she watched Al walk away, and I watched her. Finally, she turned back and spoke to me for the first time in over three weeks.

"Okay. What do you want?" She asked flatly. After my initial surprise that she had decided to talk to me, I was able to remember what it was I had wanted to say.

"Rose, why won't you talk to me? What did I do that was so wrong? If it was the comment about how you should lighten up, I already said I'm sorry. What more do you want me to do?" I asked her. I just wanted to be able to talk to her, because she was one of my friends. I was desperate not to lose her as a friend. I also felt that being around her gave me an insight into myself, because we were so much alike it was scary. Maybe that was why we clashed so easily.

After staring at me for a short period of time, she sighed. "I don't know why. You just frustrate me. We're too much alike…too competitive for our own good. It kind of scares me…" She said in a resigned voice. This wasn't surprising to me. I had actually been expecting something along these lines, but the fact that she had repeated my thoughts back to me was slightly disturbing.

"Well, we can always try to work through this. I'm your friend…no matter what you think. Just remember that. I'll always be here for you." I told her. I hoped she listened, and I stood there for what felt like ages. Then, I asked, "Okay?" Rose nodded. With this I smiled, and she returned it rather shyly. We then started to head back into the castle.

While walking with her, I decided this would be an amazing friendship, or a total disaster in the making.

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	4. Losing Myself

**Thanks to Diane again for her constant reviews! (I spelled it right this time!)**

**Please review, it lets me know what people think, and along those lines it allows me to become a better writer.  
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After confronting Rose, we were almost inseparable as friends. Albus, Rose, and I did almost everything together. Of course, we always had other friends who stayed with us at the same time. I tended to like Zabini's company over Seamus's. However, the company of either was preferable to the company of Amanda. I just could not stand her. I didn't understand how Rose could be friends with her, because she was way too hyper and easily excited.

At the same time, I also started to spend more time hanging around James Potter. Rose constantly warned me that he was a bad influence, and that eventually I would get in trouble because of it. Even though I knew it was true, I couldn't help but hang with him. He taught me the secret passages of the school, and he also taught me to hate Slytherin. I didn't need much help to dislike them, especially Scorpius. This dislike that had formed, ultimately led to Rose being proved right.

It was shortly after Halloween, and the week before my birthday. I can't quite remember what led to the conversation between us, but one thing led to another and we were at the base of the Grand Staircase when it started.

"Why don't you go home Mudblood?" Scorpius asked snidely. Everyone that heard him stopped in their tracks. I turned on the spot and stared him down. Rose's eyes widened at the insult, and Albus looked murderous. I turned to Rose and shook my head. She understood and she grabbed Albus to calm him down. Once he was calm I decided to answer.

"Tell you what Scorpius…I'll leave..." I said to his surprise. Then I continued, "when you learn how to wash your hair." A small crowd had gathered, and this remark caused all the Slytherin first-years who heard to become angry, everyone else however thought it was highly funny. I shook my head in pity at the little snake and turned to walk away.

"Diffindo!"I heard Scorpius a moment before an intense pain in my calf made me to stumble and fall. Unfortunately for him, I don't succumb to pain easily, and I quickly stood up on one foot. At this point I forgot completely of wands. I let my wand fall to the floor as I ran at him. I ignored the pain in my leg, because my focus was him. He tried backing up, but unfortunately he ran into the people who had gathered to watch. So, with a running start I punched him in his pretty-boy face as hard as I could. I felt a sickening, yet satisfying, crunch as my fist made contact with his nose. He fell almost instantly.

0I was pleased with this, and I wasn't the kind to kick someone while they were down. Instead, I did something that not only surprised those around me, but also me. I leaned over and used my leverage to pick him up. He looked at me with hatred and surprise, and odd combination when paired with the watering eyes from the painful broken nose.

"I'm proud of being a Mudblood, because it means I'm not associated with people like you. We're even." I said, and I promptly limped away. Behind me I heard someone fix his nose with the Episkey spell. The voice made me freeze in my tracks.

"Summers. Come back here." Professor Nott said in a rather emotionless tone. Even without the emotion, I could feel the anger at what he had just witnessed. I turned back and stopped in front of him. "50 points from both houses for that display of fighting. Summers…10 extra points from Gryffindor for the brutish muggle tactics. Now, both of you get to wherever you were going." Scorpius wasn't happy with losing points, but he smirked when I lost more. I angrily looked at Professor Nott, however, I held my tongue, thinking I shouldn't give him reason to punish me more.

Instead, I turned and walked away. When I reached where I had dropped my wand, I bent down to find it wasn't there. Instead I looked up and Rose was standing there. She had my wand in her hand, and she was twirling between her fingers.

"You shouldn't have done that, you shouldn't have provoked him, and you definitely shouldn't have responded after he attacked you." This was Rose's lecture for me. She stopped fiddling with my wand after she finished speaking, but she didn't seem ready to give it back yet. I simply looked at her in disbelief. I was amazed that, despite the fact that we were friends, she could still seem to side with Scorpius, somehow making it my fault that the fight started..

"I'm sorry Rose. May I have my wand? Please?" I knew my tone was less than convincing, but I wasn't sorry and that was that. There was no way I could feel sorry for something that I had enjoyed so thoroughly. I could tell that Rose didn't believe my apology, and I hadn't really intended her to.

"Boys." She sighed as she rolled her eyes and handed me the wand. For the rest of the day she looked at me in a condescending manner. I didn't mind this, because she still spoke to me. That was all that really mattered. I could take scathing looks as long as it didn't mean no talking. Rose and Albus accompanied me to the Hospital Wing after the fight. There the gash across my calf muscle was knitted back together by magic. I was also treated for blood loss, because I had lost a great deal of blood in the time it took me to walk there.

The rest of the year went by without incident, thankfully. Rose and I both passed all our end-of-year exams with 100's or better. In fact, we received the same scores on every single exam. Everyone had a great laugh about this, excluding Rose and I. Both of us were unhappy about being tied for best. We were competitive, and back in the US I had always been in the top of my classes, so this was a new experience for me.

Albus did very well on his exams as well. Seamus had, to nobody's surprise, barely passed Potions. This was a source of amusement to all of us in the Dormitory. Zabini, however, was brilliant in Potions, and he agreed to help tutor Seamus next year. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup behind the amazing talents of James Sirius Potter at Seeker and Fifth Year, Christopher Wood, son of the Scottish National Team's Keeper, Oliver Wood, at Chaser. This inspired me to want to play quidditch next year. Rose and Albus had also planned on trying out for the Gryffindor team. I wanted to be a Beater because I thought I had the physical strength and I had brains, which most school Beaters didn't have. Rose and Albus both wanted to be Chasers from all the time they had played at their homes.

Gryffindor also won the House Cup in convincing fashion, with 115 more points than the next closest house, Ravenclaw. This meant that the decorations at the end-of-year feast were the Gryffindor scarlet and gold. We celebrated heartily, but at the same time, there was an undercurrent of sadness for some of us. This was especially true for me, because I would have to go without seeing my only friends for the whole summer.

At least that was what I thought before we boarded the train. We found a compartment that was empty around the halfway point of the train, and we all sat down. Seamus and Michel sat in the compartment just across from us; they were joined by Amanda. She always seemed to be present wherever those two went. We sat talking for a while before Albus's brother poked his head in.

"Hey Albus…did you tell James what dad and mum said?" He asked in an excited tone. We all turned to look at Al. Albus suddenly realized what he was supposed to tell me as his eyes widened. I looked at both of them quizzically. Peeking to my side, I saw that Rose's expression was roughly similar to mine.

"I almost forgot! Thanks for reminding me James." Al exclaimed before turning to face Rose and I. "Our parents told us you could come over for the Break if you wanted to! They said they would be pleased to have you over!" He spoke quickly and enthusiastically. I was happy to hear this, but I also wanted to see my parents for a while first. I never knew when my dad would be shipped off again, and as such it was important to spend time with him while he was home.

"My mum told me I was spending part of the summer with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny while she and dad went on a vacation together." Rose said before I could respond. That seemed to settle it. I would spend the summer with the Potter's as long as my parents agreed, but I would definitely stay at home for at least a little while first.

"I would love to Al. We do need to hash out the details with my parents though. My dad might be redeployed to Iran this summer, and I would like to spend some time with him before he goes. He's a Combat Corpsman, so he'll see fighting if he goes."I started off happily enough, but there was an immense pressure that forced itself on my chest as I neared the end. I knew why, but I refused to acknowledge the reason. Instead, I forced myself to remain happy and think that I wouldn't have to go all summer without seeing my friends. Albus, James, and Rose all seemed happy about my reply, but there was also something else to Rose's smile. I didn't know what it was, but her gaze seemed a bit softer than usual.

"That's great! I can't wait! We can all play Quidditch, and we have lots of cousins who come over all the time!" Al was clearly in a very good mood. We talked the rest of the way back to King's Cross Station about everything that was going to happen at his house over the summer. When we got off, we met Al's parents first.

"Hello James. I've heard quite a bit about you, from both my sons." Mr. Potter greeted me. I shook his hand firmly. That was another thing my dad had taught me about people. You always wanted to make a good first impression, and a firm handshake was an integral part to this.

"It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Potter." I told him as I shook his hand.

"Call me Harry, son. And this is my wife, Ginny." He responded when I called him Mr. Potter. This threw me off a bit. I was used to referring to my elders as Mr. and Sir, or Mrs. and Ma'am. Nevertheless, I nodded and said I would try my best to do so. I was then greeted by Mrs. Potter.

"James it's so nice to meet you." She said, and then, much to my surprise, she hugged me instead of shaking my hand. I knew the Potter's were very caring, this Al had warned me about, but I just hadn't expected it to be as he had made it out to be. After the introductions, we were quickly joined by Rose's parents.

"Hello James…I take it you did extremely well your first year?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly. It was more of a statement than a question, but I still nodded to her.

"Yes ma'am. I loved it." I told her as I grinned. That was when Mr. Weasley commented.

"You didn't beat Rose though did you?" He asked with what seemed to be both a joking inquiry and a serious question at the same time. Rose beat me to the answer though.

"No he didn't beat me."What she said was the truth, but it wasn't the full truth. I wondered where she was going with this, but I didn't comment, because I wanted to let this play out.

"That's my girl! You definitely inherited your mum's brains." He exclaimed. Then, much to my surprise, Rose gave me a sly grin. I realized right then that she was able to joke, maybe not as well as many, and she could have a bit of a wicked streak.

"But he did tie me in every subject." She added, much to the disbelief of her father. Her mother on the other hand seemed proud of both of us. At the same time though, she also gave the two of us a slightly odd look. I didn't know what it was for, and by the look on Rose's face, neither did she. I just shrugged it off. Shortly thereafter, we walked through the barrier in pairs onto Platform 9.

We met with my parents at this point. I introduced them to both Rose's and Albus's parents. Then, Harry talked with my Dad for awhile about the plans to have me to spend the summer at Al's house. My parents agreed that in two weeks, Harry would pick me up and drive me to their house. This was extremely exciting news for Al and I, and we gave each other high-fives upon hearing it. Eventually we all said our goodbyes, and I left for home with my parents. In the car they had lots of questions about how my year was. Then, my dad looked at me as my mother drove. I knew that mischievous look.

"So, that girl was Rose?" He asked in a tone that, to the untrained ear, sounded innocent enough. I knew in an instant what he was insinuating though.

"Yes it was. And she's my friend!" I snapped at him. There was no need for him to think such things about the two of us. This reaction seemed to surprise him. That was because I did not normally talk to him that way. He raised his right eyebrow, and then he laughed it off and shook his head. He didn't believe me.

"If you say so." This was his only response to my defensive answer. I knew that it had sounded too defensive, but I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Rose and I were friends. Really good friends. The fact that my own father didn't believe me caused me to fume the rest of the way home.

When we reached home and I placed all my stuff in my room, my dad seemed to get a little more serious. My mom looked at him in a way I hadn't seen in a couple years. The same way it happened last time. _Oh god…_ I couldn't believe it was happening. I knew it had been a possibility, but I couldn't believe it was happening again. My father nodded to her, and she left us alone in my room, closing the door as she went. My dad turned to me with a grave look.

"Son…I don't know how to break it to you…" He started to speak. The only time I had ever seen him this torn up was when Grandma Summers had died. That was the first time I realized that even my father, the toughest man I knew, could break sometimes. I was worried as he continued, "I received my orders yesterday…I'm deploying to the war in a week." And that was the news I had feared ever since I knew there was a chance it would happen. I almost started to cry, tears welled in my eyes and my throat constricted. I forced them not to fall though. I forced myself to be tough. I dammed back the raging torrent of emotions rushing inside me. I was his little soldier, and I would persevere for him.

"Okay." I said in a cracked voice when I was able to speak. I couldn't help it. There were some things that were tougher to conceal than others, and the voice was one of the hardest to change.

"I-I need you to be tough for your mother. Since you will be staying with the Potters, she decided she'll go back home and stay with her parents. That way she'll have someone to be with her while I'm gone." He told me in the clearest voice he could muster. His toughness inspired me. I knew he could break, but he did so very rarely, and only when things were at their bleakest. I always strived to be like him, because he was my role-model. I couldn't manage to speak, so I simply nodded. "Thank you son…I'm sorry." He said as he hugged me. Then he left the room. For the next seven days I fought hard to keep the tears from falling. The war was brutal. The enemy fought hard and with underhanded tricks, sneaking up on me to try and catch me by surprise. Finally though, as always, I succeeded, but not before going through very trying battles.

Unfortunately, however, that day had to dawn. It came despite the fact that I tried so hard to avoid it. My dad picked up his bag, gave a long, silent goodbye to both of us, and then left to cross the naval base to a waiting ship. He would be deployed with the best of the best. He was going with the 1st Marines Division. They had been deployed numerous times and they had a history of winning despite all odds. This was of little comfort to me though. I had a feeling in my stomach. It was a feeling that told me I had seen him for the last time. I tried to ignore this, let it fade away, but not matter what, it sat there on my conscience like some roosting bird of prey, waiting to swoop down and attack my sanity.

The week after that dragged on for ages. It seemed more like years had passed than 7 days, but eventually the day came for me to go with Mr. Potter. He arrived on a motorcycle, which surprised me greatly, as I didn't know wizards had Muggle vehicles. It had a sidecar, and it was one of the most absolutely amazing things I had ever seen. I had always enjoyed motorcycles, and this one, while old, was still a great one. With his help, we put my trunk into the sidecar.

"Here, you can take this off once we're far enough away." He whispered to me. He gave me a wink as he handed me a helmet. Then, we walked back into the house and he talked to my mom. "Mrs. Summers, thank you for letting James stay with us. I promise you that he will be completely safe with me." My mom was ready to cry as she hugged me before we left. I felt bad, but she would be leaving in a few hours as well, and she would be back with my grandparents shortly. When we got on the motorcycle, I put my helmet on and we started off.

After about five minutes, he figured we were far enough away, "You can take that helmet off now. And hang on tightly. We're about to have takeoff." I took the helmet off and placed it in the sidecar. Before I had a chance to ask him what he meant by takeoff, we were in the air. That bike officially became the coolest motorcycle ever with that flight. Getting to his house was a matter of 15 minutes by flight, whereas if we had driven, it would have been a couple hours.

When we got there, Rose and Albus ran out the door to greet me. Rose almost tackled me in a hug, and Al simply laughed at the sight as he said hello. Rose blushed a bit at the way she had acted, but proceeded to punch Albus in the arm for laughing.

"It's only been two weeks Rose, but I missed you too. And you Al." Her reaction to my joke was exactly what I expected. A few sore ribs later I watched as James and then Mrs. Potter came outside. James greeted me warmly, and once again I received a hug from Mrs. Potter.

"Nice to see you again James." She said to me. Then, once everyone had said hello, I went to help Mr. Potter with my luggage.

"No…no, I'll have my James help me with this. Why don't you go with Al and Rose? They can show you where you'll be sleeping." He told me in a fatherly tone. I didn't know what to say. I was used to doing things on my own; it as yet another of my father's lessons. If you can't do it yourself, don't expect others to do it for you. He also taught me how to be polite, so I nodded, because he seemed like he would press it until I went anyways.

I followed Al with Rose beside me up two flights of steps to the third floor. On this floor were Al's room and James's. We went into Al's room and I was amazed. It was a really cool room. It had posters of wizard bands and some quidditch teams. One was of the Holyhead Harpies, another had the Chudley Cannons. All of them, true to wizard fashion, were moving.

"This is awesome Al!" I said excitedly. It truly was the coolest room I had ever seen.

"Thanks. You'll be sleeping in here. My dad added a second bed just so you could. It'll be like school, except without Seamus' snoring." He commented with a laugh. I couldn't help but smile at the shot at Seamus, because it was too true.

"I'll be downstairs. I'm sleeping in a spare bedroom across from Lily's room." Rose told me in her usual tone of voice. That was when the door to the room opened. James and Mr. Potter carried my trunk in and set it at the foot of my bed.

"There you go." Mr. Potter said as it was in place. Then he looked to all of us, including James, and said, "Lunch will be ready in a bit." We all nodded that we understood, and then he left.

"James, my room is across the hall. We need to plan our fun for this year at school." James said with a wink after making sure his dad was far enough out of earshot. I grinned widely, because I knew he was planning on some big pranks this year now that he had an accomplice to aid him. He then left and it was just Rose, Albus, and I again. The other two talked about the past two weeks, but I didn't say much. I didn't feel like talking about it. Rose seemed to notice, but she didn't press it. The talking went on until we heard Mrs. Potter.

"Lunch is ready!" She called up the steps. We all came down at the same time. James was right behind us, and Lily and Hugo right in front of us. The meal was amazing. There was a lot more food on the table than I was used to. Being that my dad is in the Navy, he didn't earn a whole lot. He earned enough to put food on the table, just not this much food. Everything I ate tasted fantastic.

"So, James, are you thinking of trying out for the Quidditch team?" Mr. Potter asked near the end of the meal. I looked up from my food and then at the other James. He was definitely interested in my response as well.

"Yes, I really do want to try out. I've always liked sports, and from what I saw last year, I'll really like Quidditch." I answered. It was true. I had played football, American football as they called it here, and I was good at it. It was a violent game, and if the matches last year were any indication, so was Quidditch.

"Wha' posison?" James asked through a mouthful of food. Mrs. Potter stared him down for this breach of etiquette, but he just smiled. It was like he had planned it just to make his mother mad, and knowing him, he had.

"I want to try Beater. I think that's the position for me." I said. I had also played baseball back home, and swinging a bat was almost second nature to me.

"Good boy. We need some new Beaters now that our last pair graduated." He informed me. He seemed happy that I wanted to play. They all knew that Al and Rose also wanted to try out. This was good too, because, along with the Beaters, two of the Chasers had left as well. This had left the team severely weakened from its championship form last year, but the core of the team remained intact with James, Christopher Wood and Natalie Thomas.

After dinner, I helped pick up the dishes and clean off the table despite assurances that I didn't need to help. Mr. and Mrs. Potter seemed impressed with my manners and attitude. Once this was finished, Al, Rose, and James dragged me off to a large clearing. It was surrounded by large trees. At each end were three hoops off the ground. I realized that this was a makeshift Quidditch pitch. We played two-a-side Quidditch which consisted of simply trying to put the Quaffle through the hoops. We had different teams each time. Rose and I won the first match. Then, Rose and James beat Al and I. In the third match, James and I lost badly to Rose and Al. I knew Rose would hold this above me, but I didn't care. I acknowledged the fact that she was a great Chaser. She was way better than I was anyways. The whole time, Lily and Hugo, Rose's little brother, watched from the sidelines, cheering on whatever team they saw fit. Sometimes they even switched allegiances halfway through a match.

The next two weeks went on in this same fashion. We played Quidditch a lot. Multiple times, James and I would shut ourselves away in his room for an hour or so at a time, planning our escapades for the upcoming school year. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time. Sadly, it couldn't last long. The phone call came on a Wednesday, right after dinner.

"James, it's for you."Mr. Potter said as he strode over and handed me the phone. I wondered why anyone would be calling for me.

"J-James?" I heard my mother ask. I knew in that moment that the call wasn't going to be pleasant. She sounded awful, and I could only guess what it meant.

"I'm here mom." I reassured her. Quickly my thoughts started racing, and I started to think of every possibility for her calling me like this.

"It's your father…" With that, my insides turned icy. "They said it was an engagement outside of Yazd and that his squad was hit by an ambush. He's dead..." At those words, the phone fell from my hand. I fought back the tears…I fought them so very hard, but there was no way I could possibly prevent them from falling, just like the phone had. I turned on the spot, and ran from the house. I ran as hard as I could. Tree branches caught me in the face, cutting me open, but I barely noticed. I didn't notice any of the scratches on my legs from the briar bushes that I tore through. Finally, my legs had carried me to the Quidditch field. Here I realized that I was trying my best to do one thing and one thing alone.

I was trying to lose myself.


	5. Distraction

**So, it's been much too long since I've posted anything on here. First year of college was a crazy affair, so I never really had time to do this. So, with a long hiatus, I'm back, and here is the remastered Chapter 5 of Pricked by the Rose.  
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**Please review, as it really brightens my day to see reviews, especially those with constructive criticism!**

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I don't know exactly how long I had been there. It could have been hours, or it could have been minutes. Either way, she found me. Rose found me, and she held me. We sat there for a long time, me just crying into her shoulder like the lost child I was. I was so ashamed at this display, yet, at the same time, I didn't care. This was the first time I had ever let anyone see me in a vulnerable state like this. She comforted me until I stopped crying, but the confusing multitude of emotions coursing through me didn't allow me a chance to truly clear my head.

Once I had finished crying, I sat up straight, closed my eyes, and took a couple deep breaths. This was the best method I had found to control every last emotion. Only after I had my rebellious emotions under control did I dare look at Rose. In her eyes, I saw pity. It wasn't condescending, but it was more caring than anything else. I didn't know how to respond to this look. I didn't even know if I could speak due to the emotions that were doing their best to beat down the hastily reconstructed walls of their prison, but I had to try.

"Thank you Rose… I…" There was simply nothing else I could think to say. I just couldn't seem to think very well in her presence, especially at this moment. I had to devote most of my will and mind to keeping my emotions in check, but her presence made it hard to do even that. Maybe it was because she had seen me truly vulnerable, as no one else, not even my parents, ever had. I really didn't know. I gave her a weak smile, hoping that it would communicate what I couldn't.

"You okay?" Rose asked softly. She was genuinely concerned for me and the state of my mind. I knew she wanted to know if I was going to lose it or if I would be fine. The truth was that I had already lost it. I was simply trying to pull it back together. Finally, after a few moments of thinking, I was able to craft a response.

"No," I answered truthfully, because if I lied, it could only lead to problems later on. "But I'll live….I have to." It was a fact. I couldn't just roll over and stop living my life. I would push on, just as my dad had taught me to do. Never dwell too long on the past. Instead, you should always look forward to the future and whatever it may hold for you.

Suddenly, a memory came to me, of a time when he had taught me that lesson.

* * *

My dad and I were spending some free time together. It was a rare thing since he was always training or deployed. He had just recently returned from a deployment, and I had heard things about what had happened while he was overseas. There had been a mistake, and it had cost the unit dearly. As usual, my father didn't let it show on his face that he was hurting, but as little kids usually do, I had a knack for knowing when things were wrong.

"Daddy, are you okay?" It was such an innocent question, and the conversation that followed is one that would stick with me the rest of my life.

"Son, I need to teach you something, so you don't fall into the same trap I have become entangled in." His voice was sad, but there was also a bit of hopefulness to it. "I want you to remember this." I nodded, hoping to remember everything he told me.

"When you go on to serve, since you've said that is that is what you want, there is one thing to remember. You will lose men. Even the best leaders lose men. The important thing is to not dwell on it like I have. Be sorrowful that you have lost great friends, but you also need to remember the good times. You can never let dark thoughts overtake your mind, because, when they do, they will not relinquish their hold without a great battle." I couldn't help but notice the lone tear that made its way down my dad's cheek. I may have been young, but I was observant, and what I observed was the strongest man I knew breaking a bit. After a long pause, he finally continued, "Never lose the good within you. Don't let this world take that from you. It will save you someday."

I hugged my father then, and after a long time remaining quiet he seemed to regain his will to speak. "There is one last thing to remember son. When things are bleakest, when you do lose that light in you, and you will lose sight of it for a short time once or twice, remember you will always have an angel beside you. A person you thought to be a normal human being will turn out to be your guardian angel, helping you back to your feet, and showing you the good within yourself once more." After another short pause, he added, "Thank you for being my angel son."

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My body wanted to cry after I remembered, but my mind fought it and won. Looking beside me, I knew he was right. Rose was my angel, or at least she was for that moment. One day I would return the favor. I would be her rock, just as she had been mine. I stood up slowly, and then reached down to help Rose up.

The moment our hands met, I felt something arc between us, and I looked at her. She stared at me too, and I wondered if she had felt it. I didn't mention it though, for all I knew I could have imagined the feeling. I was so messed up that I didn't even know what was really happening to me. It was like a bad dream where no matter how hard you run, you can't move forward. Rose then did something that both surprised me and freed me from that haze. She hugged me. I held on tightly, because that was the only chance I had of not slipping away completely.

"Come on. Al's parents will start worrying if we don't get back soon," Rose said as she grasped my hand. I knew she was right, but there was something in me that didn't want to leave. It wanted to stay here…maybe forever. This same part of me also didn't want split from her, so reluctantly it assented to follow. This probably would have stunned me, if I wasn't already in that situation.

We eventually got back after taking our time along the way. When we walked in the door, Mrs. Potter got up from her place at the table. She came to me and gave me a hug. This whole time, I realized that they didn't know why I had fled, unless my mother had told them. I had no way of knowing whether or not she had told them, so I decided I would say it.

"My dad…he-he's dead. Killed in action in the w-war in Iran," I managed to say through a quickly constricting airway. I refused to cry again. I fought it hard and no tears formed. Despite this, it was still hard to breathe and speak. After I spoke, I saw Rose's expression get even softer. In fact, everyone around the table seemed to look at me with pity. I hated it. I wasn't someone who liked to be pitied. I did notice however that Mr. Potter looked as if he was studying me more than pitying. It took me a bit to figure out why, but then I remembered something about him. Voldemort had killed his parents, and he was left to live with his aunt and uncle. He knew what it meant to lose a parent.

"I'm sorry James. If you want to go home, I understand. I'll help you pack, and we can leave right away if you want," Mr. Potter kindly offered. I looked up at him and studied his face for a moment. He meant it, but I decided it was better for me to be around friends, rather than alone with my mother. At least this way I would have people to take my mind off of it, granted there was nothing that would be able to make me completely forget about it.

"No…if you'd let me, I'd rather stay here. It'll be better for me than going back," I told him. My throat had opened up a bit, and it was easier for me to speak now. I looked around the room, trying to avoid everyone's gazes. Mr. Potter nodded.

"We would be very happy if you stayed," He answered as Mrs. Potter nodded her approval.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go lay down," I said. Then, I retreated up the steps to Al's room where I laid down on the bed I had come to think of as my own while living there. It wasn't long before I fell asleep, the day's events taking their toll on my battered psyche.

When I finally woke up, the light came through the windows very brightly. I seemed to have slept for a very long time. I got up and changed before stepping out into the hall. I didn't hear anyone on this floor, so I went down the steps. When I walked into the dining room, everyone was sitting around the table eating lunch.

I noticed that, when I came into the room, they all stopped talking and looked at me. I silently took the open seat next to Rose. When I sat down, she dropped her hand beneath the table and gave my hand a small squeeze. It was a small gesture to be sure, but it helped me an immeasurable amount. Once again she was my tether to reality, the only thing keeping me from losing my grip. I then started to serve myself like I had been invited to do every meal. After a short and slightly awkward silence, they started talking again. They all seemed to notice I wasn't much in the mood for talking, and as such they let me be. I was glad that they knew how I was feeling, and that they weren't forcing me to talk. I knew, however, that this would not last and that I would have to talk eventually.

Mercifully, the meal ended fairly quickly. I wasn't expected to stay and help clean up, so I didn't. Instead, I was going to go back to Al's room. This plan changed though. Rose motioned for me to come with her, and I followed her out back. I thought we were going to the Quidditch field clearing, but we didn't. We walked through the trees for a long time, until finally we came to a small, shady clearing. There we sat down against a big rock. We simply sat there for the longest time, neither of us speaking.

"Do you want to talk?" Rose finally asked me. I turned my head to look at her. Yes I wanted to talk. I wanted nothing more than to talk, but I didn't know what to say. There was simply too much running through my head.

"I miss him." I said without thinking. It had just come to me. Unfortunately this led to tears forming, and despite my best efforts, falling. She just nodded. I knew she understood, but I didn't know what she could say in response. Luckily she did.

"I know it's hard. You have to stay with me though." She said as she gripped my arm. I knew I had to stay there. I couldn't simply let myself go. Then, I thought about it. Something about her tone had suggested….no. I must have imagined it.

"I will. I won't leave you. Just like you're here for me….I'll be here for you when it's my turn to help." I respond. There was simply no thinking when I spoke to her. It came out without even the slightest hesitation. I smiled shyly, and she returned it in the same manner.

We continued to talk and fall into short silences for a long time. Over the rest of Summer break we continued these talks. Almost every day we met in our secret clearing. It truly was ours, because nobody else knew of it. I also started to become more involved as the summer wore on. I talked and joked, albeit, a bit less than I would have previously. I enjoyed the games of Quidditch we had, especially since Rose and I usually paired up as a team. This brought us closer together as friends. We merely needed to look at each other to know what the other was thinking.

During this time I also met Teddy Lupin. He came over quite often to eat with us. He was very cool and he seemed a brave soul. He had, like Mr. Potter, lost both his parents when he was really young. Since then, the Potters and his grandmother had raised him.

I talked with my mother over the phone whenever I could. She told me that they had not recovered my dad's body, because of the ferocity of the fighting where he had been killed. This meant there was no funeral to attend. My mother had also been fighting hard to get the government to change his status to MIA/POW, because nobody was sure he had died. Finally, the time to go back to school rolled around, and we were whisked off to Diagon Alley by Al's parents after receiving our letters for school.

There I picked up all the books I needed to after changing over money my mother had sent me. I also decided that I needed to buy an owl. This would allow me to talk to my mom much easier than without one of my own. I entered Eyelops Owl Emporium and after a long time I finally settled on a beautiful Barn Owl. I named him Husk. It popped into my head, and I felt it fit for some reason.

Then, I found I still had a great deal of gold left. This surprised me, but I knew exactly what I would spend it on. I wanted a broomstick. Al and Rose both had them, and so did James. I happily bought a Firebolt III.

"That's a good choice." Mr. Potter told me when I came out with it. "I had one of the original Firebolts when I played, and it is an amazing broom." This made me even happier about my purchase. We had almost finished shopping when I was walking with Rose. That was also when we ran into Scorpius.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw him. I realized this was involuntary, but I still couldn't help but wonder why. I didn't ask though, because I didn't want to make her mad. It took Scorpius a matter of seconds to see us.

"Scorpius…I'm not in the mood right now. Just don't mess with me and you'll leave with your nose intact." I warned him. I did not want to put up with him. Then I wondered how I would put up with him over the school year. My warning didn't seem to please Rose who scowled at me for the threat. I gave her a small smile to convince her I was joking, but I knew it wasn't going to work. Scorpius and I had too much history for her to believe that.

"So James…I heard a rumor about you. It came through a long line of people, so I don't know if it's true. If it is though, I say good riddance." Scorpius spoke in response. I didn't like what he was hinting at, and I started to get angry. I tried to calm myself down, because I didn't want to make a scene in the middle of Diagon Alley. Rose sensed my anger too, and she warned me with a look and a squeeze of my hand. "Is she your girlfriend now James?" Scorpius asked in what seemed almost a genuine question. It really didn't seem like his usual derisive tone.

I wanted so bad to respond, but I didn't. Instead I walked away. This didn't go over well with the little Slytherin.

"Turn around! I'm not done talking!" He yelled at my back. I just kept walking, and that was when he let his bomb drop. "Good…I hope you go cry over your dead father some more…" I knew it was just a spiteful comment, but it was not one I could let go. I turned around and sprinted at him. I tackled Scorpius to the ground, the air rushing out of his body as it hit the hard bricks. I had pulled my fist back, ready to punch him, when I felt someone holding me back.

"Don't! Don't hurt him James," Rose pleaded as she held onto my arm. I couldn't believe she was siding with this pure-blood yet again, but she was. I looked him in the eyes and I saw that hatred there again. There was also fear, the wild fear of a cornered animal. I hoped that fear would stay with him forever. I wanted it to eat him from the inside until he was nothing, but instead, I simply nodded and dropped my arm.

I bent over so I was close to him, and then I said in a deadly quiet voice, "My dad died so punks like you could sleep in peace at night." With that I stood up and walked away with Rose. We didn't mention the incident to Al's family. We both agreed without speaking that we would tell Al when we got home.

We went back to Al's house for the last week of the summer. We did as much as we could to divert our minds from the approaching school year. We had loads of fun, got into trouble a couple times with Mrs. Potter, and were a little depressed when we finally had to pack. It was hectic packing, but we all succeeded in packing out trunks neatly, except for the other James, and preparing all our stuff for the ride to Hogwarts.

"Wake up dears." I heard Mrs. Potter tell us the morning of our departure. Mr. Potter had been given a pair of Ministry vehicles by the Minister of Magic himself. They were old friends and Minister Shacklebolt had been very happy to help Mr. Potter out. The trunks of the vehicles were magically altered to be bigger on the inside than the outside. We easily fit the trunks in to the cars and then climbed into the cars. The ride to King's Cross Station was short. When we stepped out, Husk gave a small hoot. I looked at him quizzically, and he simply hooted at me again. I just put it to him being happy to be in fresh air again.

We made it to the platform quickly and loaded our trunks aboard the train. I was happy to have all the help. It was different from last year. Mr. Potter took me aside while his wife spoke to the others.

"I know how you must be feeling right now. I lost someone very close to me when I was 15. I blamed myself for it. Whatever you do James, don't blame yourself, and don't go looking for trouble. It'll usually find you on its own," he told me in a fatherly tone. Even though I had only known him for a year, he already felt like a second father to me. It was something that had just dawned on me.

"I promise….I won't look for trouble. But I can't say I don't blame myself for it, or at least for things left unsaid," I responded. This seemed to trouble him slightly, but at the same time he accepted it. I was stubborn, as he knew, and I wouldn't be changed so easily.

Finally it came time to leave and we made our way onto the Hogwarts Express. The train ride was just like the year before. Albus, Rose and I joked and talked. We were joined by friends every so often. We finally arrived at Hogwarts. That was when we got to ride to the school in the carriages. I had heard the older students talk about them being drawn by magic and nothing else. This left me very confused when I approached the carriages and noticed that they were being pulled by what looked to be leathery horses with wings.

"Wow…they are so cool," I said as we approached an empty carriage. Rose and Al exchanged a look and then looked at me like I was crazy. That was when Rose's eyes widened. I thought she had seen them, but she hadn't.

"Oh! My mum told me about the Thestrals. Only people who have witnessed death can see them," she said matter-of-factly. This wasn't a great comfort to me. We all climbed into the carriage, and I could see the question in her mind. I decided that I would wait for her to ask it before I would answer. "So…you've…uh seen someone die?" she asked shyly. I knew she didn't want to hurt my feelings, so she had tried not to ask, but I also knew that the question was just too tempting.

"Yes….one of my only friends back in the States. We had been screwing around, climbing a tree. We were standing near the top. I started to say something and he turned to look at me…" I told her and Al. It was tough to tell the story, but it was necessary. "Unfortunately that motion…that tiny motion…caused him to lose his balance…" I shook my head in disgust at myself. "I tried…I tried so hard to save him, but I-I just wasn't quick enough. He fell fifty fe-"

"You can stop…" Rose said as she saw I was having trouble. We rode the rest of the way up to the castle in silence. I sat with my eyes closed until we reached our destination. We walked into the Great Hall and sat through the sorting. Once the feast finished, we went to our dormitories. I welcomed the sleep and went under quickly. Our second year turned out to be very similar to our first year. With the exception that there was more expected from us.

Eventually October rolled along, and with it, Quidditch tryouts. Christopher Wood had been named Gryffindor Captain this year. He was a Sixth year Chaser and had Quidditch in his blood. He also had the daunting task of rebuilding his team. He had to replace both Beaters and two Chasers who had graduated. He had however retained James Potter, who was, like his father, a fantastic seeker.

The Beater tryouts took place last. The first tryout however, involved everybody.

"I want everyone to fly around the field. You'll go in groups according to age." Christopher announced. Many of the groups our age or slightly older were not great flyers. Rose, Al and I went together as the final group. We had practiced our flying during the summer and we each knew each other well. We flew better together than anyone else had, excepting James and Christopher of course. This seemed to impress Wood.

Chaser tryouts were first, so I got on my broom and took off to watch the action from above. I watched as countless would-be Chasers were shut down by the great Keeper abilities of Natalie Thomas. She was a Fifth year witch, tall, with shoulder-length, curly, raven colored hair and dark-brown eyes to match her olive skin tone. The first Chaser to beat her was Rose. She stopped Al at first, but was unable to hang on to the Quaffle. Al, being the determined player he was, continued to catch the Quaffle and score from an extreme angle. This accuracy was definitely unique to him among the other competitors.

I celebrated both of their goals and then it was my turn to tryout with the other beater hopefuls. I was up against many older students who, having already matured, were much bigger than me. Some of them were really good. By the time I had been called up, everyone else had gone and Wood had been impressed by quite a few of them.

"Okay…Summers, James!" Wood called out. I flew forward and took the bat from the boy who had preceded me. Christopher let the bludger go, and I set out to hit all the targets he had released. One target fell after the other. I didn't miss a single one and I even had a good amount of power behind each hit. Chris seemed impressed, but he wasn't done with me. He flew over to James for a moment and conversed with him. James grinned toothily and then looked towards me with determination. Wood came over to me. "James has agreed to be a target for you. If you can hit him, you can hit anyone at this school. He's probably the best flyer here." He told me then he went and caught the bludger. He waited a few moments while James got up to full speed and then he released the bludger.

It came straight at me. I wasn't ready to hit it at James yet though so I tipped it with my bat into the air. I was ready to fire when it came back down and I let rip a powerful swing. The bludger flew like a bullet towards James and there was no way for him to avoid it. It slammed right into his side and you could hear the air leave his body. Wood looked amused at this accomplishment, amused but impressed. Finally he called us all in.

"Here are the results of the tryouts." He shouted to be heard among the throng of prospective players. "At Chaser Rose Weasley and Albus Potter were the only two to succeed in scoring on Natalie. They also exhibited great teamwork and coordination in their flying. Therefore they get the spots." I was happy for both Rose and Albus, but then I was also extremely apprehensive to learn the results of the Beater tryouts.

"For the Beater spots Brandon Pyke and James Summers take the spots. There was great competition for these spots, but James and Cotter showed great strength while maintaining stunning accuracy at the same time." Wood announced. "Thank you all for trying out. I hope to see you again next year." I was ecstatic to hear that I had made the team. I turned to Rose and Al just in time to be tackled in mid-air by the pair of them. We all cheered and James, Chris, Brandon, and Natalie even joined us. We landed shortly after and we were on our way up to the castle.

Practice over the next few weeks was intense as our first match was against Slytherin. I had found out that Scorpius was a great flyer and that he was playing Chaser for the Slytherin team. This made me happy, because it meant I could cause damage without getting in trouble. Rose meanwhile, seemed to think that my vendetta with Scorpius was stupid.

When that day finally came around for the first match, I was so excited I could barely eat anything. After forcing myself to eat a small breakfast, Rose, Al, and I headed to the Quidditch Pitch. We met with the rest of the team in the locker room, and were suiting up when Wood entered.

"Okay. This is the first match of the year, and the first step on the road to another Quidditch Cup!" Wood announced to us before the match. I felt his pump-up speech was amusing, but it was effective. When we went out on the field, I was ready to hurt. I've heard it said to enjoy the Beater position you have to be a little crazy. I loved it, so I must have been certifiably insane. When Wood and the Slytherin captain shook hands, Scorpius and I glared at each other. We kept our eyes on each other until the match started.

"An' that's the start of the Quidditch Season!" I heard a familiar voice announce. It was Seamus announcing the match. "I think this will be a great match. There is a lot of history between the players out there. Wood and Nietzsche have played each other since they were Second Years. There is also the new rivalry of Scorpius Malfoy and James Summers." I grinned as he said my name. "I'm sure everyone who was there remembers what happened between these two in November of last year. I hope James breaks Malfoy's nose again…only kidding Professor." Seamus said as Professor Bell scowled at him.

I quickly focused my attention on the match again. Rose had the Quaffle and was soaring toward the Slytherin Keeper. That's when the bludger came rocketing at me and I saw that Scorpius was completely focused on Rose and the Quaffle. I connected with the bludger solidly and it ricocheted right at Scorpius. I had aimed for the head, and I succeeded. He was hit on top of the head and it nearly knocked him out. His broom fell a good fifteen feet. Rose dropped the Quaffle as he was hit, luckily Al was there to catch it and put it in.

"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Seamus shouted into the microphone. I pumped my fist, but I had to wonder why Rose had dropped the Quaffle. She seemed to have been worried about Scorpius. I shook the thought from my head, because there was no way she could be concerned with a Slytherin, especially that snake in particular.

As the match continued, Rose, Al, and Chris continued to score, and nothing had gotten by our defense. By the look of James's face though, the Snitch was nowhere to be seen.

"120-0 Gryffindor!" Seamus announced happily as Wood scored yet again. After this score, Scorpius took the Quaffle and started his attack towards Natalie. I saw this, and I quickly found a bludger. Another accurate shot and another hit on Malfoy. It was almost too easy. That was when I something green shoot past me towards the ground at full speed. The Slytherin Seeker had spotted the Snitch. James had seen it at the same time, but he was too far away. I frantically looked around and found what I was looking for. The bludger I had just hit had rebounded off Scorpius back to me.

James was only a foot behind when I hit the bludger. It shot off like a rocket and I heard the connection moments before the Slytherin Keeper would have captured the Snitch. The force of the hit pushed him the remaining ten feet into the ground. He hit the ground with tremendous force and lay there unconscious with his broom twenty feet away. My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn't meant to hurt anyone that bad. I flew as fast as I could, and I was the first one there. Without losing momentum, I jumped from my broom two feet off the ground and hit the ground running. I turned the boy over, and with a lot of groaning, he quickly started to come to. By this time, James had caught the Snitch and we had won. When the teachers reached us I took off to join the celebration, convinced he would be fine. He had known the possibilities of getting hurt when he signed up. I refused to take blame for it.

After our own little celebration, we went up to the Common Room to celebrate with the rest of the House. Rose was happy, but she seemed slightly distracted. I didn't comment on this, but I did note it to myself. This led to a realization. This party, Quidditch, school they were all distractions.

I was using them as distractions to avoid thinking of my father.

The thing with distractions though, is that they never last.


End file.
